First Spell: Imperishable Night's Beginning
by RandyPandy
Summary: The moon is in disarray. Of course, this does not go unnoticed by certain groups of people, a few of whom try to invoke some control over the situation and investigate. This is not a novelization of the game, but a six part story that leads up to the playable characters' decisions to investigate. -Pre-IN-
1. Prologue

**AN: **And here's another attempt at me writing a Touhou fanfic. I actually wrote the entire thing while I was at university at the beginning of the year, but decided it wasn't good enough to post. Just recently, I went back to it and edited a few things. This is not a novelization of the game, but it details the events that led up to it. Including this prologue, there are six chapters, the other five which will be uploaded in time.

**Disclaimer:** Touhou Project is the property of ZUN, and I am merely playing in his sandbox for fun.

* * *

_**-Prologue-**  
_

* * *

_Summer is drawing to a close. Soon, chirping crickets will take over for buzzing cicadas. Gensokyo's hot nights are cooling down, making it a comfortable time for Humans and Youkai alike._

_Times are peaceful as usual. From a human perspective, anyways._

* * *

It was the only thing that she could do. Eirin Yagokoro glanced nervously up at the sky, as she spoke. The others knew everything that they had to do, to prevent the three of them from being found. If the three of them were found, then everything that they had done so far would be for nothing. Kaguya Houraisan needed to be protected. Reisen Udongein Inaba and those adorable Earth Rabbits, led by Tewi Inaba, had pledged themselves to it.

Today there had been an especially close call. Something like that couldn't happen again.

She wasn't going to allow it. She wasn't going to allow them to be caught. Even if it meant revealing themselves to the ones that lived on this rock.

* * *

"It's dark! It's dark! We can play!"

Fireflies flew in the darkness once the sun set and the moon came out. This was their territory, this was their playground. Without the sun around, they could shine their lights, and have fun the darkness.

This darkness, it seemed it would last forever. Wriggle Nightbug hoped it would it would, because then they would be able to play all the time!

* * *

"I need to practice my song, a little more~."

Another night, another time to finally catch something.

Mystia Lorelei was incredibly bored as she rested on a branch, her wings folded up against her. So few people wandered across this path at this time, and usually it was only during the daytime when they did.

But perhaps now she would see some more people walking. That way, she would be able to finally catch some better meals.

* * *

"I won't let anything happen to you. Not now, not ever."

This was dangerous for the humans. If Keine Kamishirasawa didn't act now, they would all be lost.

She peeked inside some of the windows, smiling as she saw them fast asleep. They wouldn't know what happened for now, but if this continued, then all of those peaceful faces would have expressions of terror.

It was for the best that she do it.

That she make it never so.

* * *

"Ugh... I hope I'm closeby. I need a village."

As much as Rin Satsuki tried to heal the moon, it would just not do so. Perhaps she was much too far away to actually do something.

She was traveling, but none would attack her. Why should they? She wouldn't be there to help if they didn't. As long as she reached her destination, everything should be fine.

'Should' being the keyword there.

* * *

"If this is her, again..."

Fujiwara no Mokou could tell that it had begun. An ordinary Human would not have felt it, but she was not an ordinary Human.

And she was just going to let it happen. Why should she stop it from happening, after all?

Perhaps it would make things easier for her in the long run.

* * *

_**-Prologue End-**  
_

* * *

**AN: **Rin Satsuki is an official character that was cut from the sixth Touhou game, Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil. Almost nothing is known about her, though she is believed to be a kirin working as a nurse. In my headcanon, all four teams went out and encountered one opponent before the fateful fight where they met each other (which would be Stage 4 in the game). Since there were only three opponents beforehand (Wriggle, Mystia, and Keine), I added Rin in as the 'fourth' opponent.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: **Here's the first chapter of the story! Featuring our first team of protagonists, Yukari and Reimu.

* * *

_**-Chapter 1-**_

* * *

_There is an old mansion located at the edge of Gensokyo. Its history radiates a kind of atmosphere that rejects visitors._

_Items that look as though they might be from the outer world have somehow found their way into this house. Strange machines, books that make no sense, magazines..._

* * *

There was something amiss.

Yukari Yakumo tapped her fingers uneasily against the strange iron box that had fallen in from the other world. A television, it was called. The iron box, now used to store wayward spirits, sat there innocently, not making a sound. But it wasn't the television set that Yukari was concerned about.

Even Ran, her shikigami, and Chen, her shikigami's shikigami (that was fun to say five times fast, Yukari felt), could feel it. Chen was sitting quietly on a pillow, but her tails twiched every once in awhile. Ran was sitting against the wall of their mansion, but occasionally, her ears would flicker.

"You can feel it too, right?" Yukari said, looking at the two of them.

Both the fox and cat Youkais nodded, looking nervous.

"It had to be someone powerful to pull something like this off," Yukari murmured, glancing out at the moon in the sky. "And we don't know who it is. Hm, sounds like fun~."

"M-Mistress?" Ran blinked at the sudden happy demeanor that Yukari had.

"I think I'll go check it out!" Yukari clapped her hands together, looking much younger than she really was. For a moment, Ran and Chen stared at each other, and then at Yukari, as if they had never seen her in their lives. Did... she just say she was going to do something? _By herself?!_

"Wait, no, that's way too much work for just me. But someone has to check it out!" The Gap Youkai opened up a gaping purple hole with red eyes. "Don't wait for me!" she called out cheerfully to the two shikigamis before jumping into the hole.

"Master-!" Ran's cry was cut off as the gap closed.

The journey was instantaneous. Yukari smiled as she reached her location, and glanced over at the girl that was idly sweeping a broom across the floor. With her own natural abilities, she snuck up towards the girl, and suddenly hugged her, scooping her up and hovering in the air.

"Guess who?"

* * *

It was a beautiful night, Reimu's aunt was sure.

Fujinchi Hakurei sat just inside the border of the Hakurei Shrine, the turtle Genji by her side. At 40, she was no spring chicken, which was why she had retired from the Shrine Maiden business and had become what she joked was the "Shrine Mother". She was neither the mother of the shrine nor of the current Shrine Maiden, but it was equivalent to being called a Queen Mother.

Genji seemed a bit uneasy with what was happening, and kept looking up into the sky. "I can't help but feel that there is something going on," the turtle said. "It hasn't felt this way in many, many years."

"Perhaps I should ask Reimu to investigate?" Fujinchi said. It couldn't hurt, though it did make her uneasy to have to send the fourteen-year-old girl out there. Reimu was strong and had defeated many threats, but that had been mainly in the daytime. Nighttime was a completely different matter; more dangerous Youkai tended to lurk then.

But before Genji could answer, a sudden scream nearly made her topple off the steps. "Reimu!" Fujinchi was still fit for her age, and with Genji flying beside them, Reimu's aunt raced into the shrine where the scream had come from... only to stop.

There, with a bewildered Reimu in her arms, was the Gap Youkai Yukari Yakumo. She was floating in the air hugging Reimu as if the girl were a child's toy, and she waved merrily to both Fujinchi and Genji.

"Fujinchi, Genji, how lovely to see you again~! Fujinchi, you're looking really old nowadays, slow down with your growing! Don't mind me, I just want to borrow your niece to check things out. I'll bring her back in one piece, I promise! No eating!"

Reimu seemed to find the strength to shove herself away from Yukari, scowling as she dropped to the ground. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she snapped, a bit irritated and not caring about the fact that she had just yelled at the most powerful Youkai in Gensokyo.

With a dramatic air, Yukari stepped back as if stung. "Reimu, dear, you wound me."

"Yukari?" Fujinchi tilted her head, coming to a stop beside her niece and placing a hand on the fuming girl's shoulder. "What brings you here? Should I get some tea?"

The Youkai shook her head. "You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" Reimu asked, crossing her arms as Fujinchi put her hand on her shoulder but not shoving it off.

"I did," Genji said grimly. "The moon."

"Yes, the moon," Yukari said, nodding. "It's... there's something quite wrong with it."

"There is?" Fujinchi asked, puzzled. She looked over at Reimu, who had the same puzzled look. "I haven't noticed anything."

"Me neither," the Shrine Maiden said.

"Oh, it's there. Come on outside, you two~." And with those words, Yukari pulled both Reimu and Fujinchi into a gap, causing them to yelp as they suddenly ended up outside on the steps. Genji flew out not long afterwards, and Yukari gestured one arm to the sky. "There, see?"

Reimu squinted her eyes. "...Now that you said it, there is something funny. What's happened to the moon? It looks... strange. I can't describe it, but... it does look strange."

"I was hoping that we could find out," Yukari said happily, placing one arm around Reimu's shoulder. "You and me, the Shrine Maiden of the Boundary and the Youkai of Boundaries, flying off together to sholve an incident! Wouldn't that be something to tell the rest of your family one day?"

"Yukari... I exterminate Youkai," Reimu said. But the grin on her face and the gleam in her eyes revealed what she was really thinking. "Which is why its my job to make sure that there are no Youkai behind this incident."

"Oh, I knew that I could count on you~!" Yukari said, that happy tone not leaving her voice.

"You two are really going to go right now?" Fujinchi said. "It's almost 10:30. Can you really solve this incident by dawn? Reimu, did you get enough sleep to last that long in fights?"

"Oh, I'm wide awake!" Reimu said, straightening her clothes.

"It would get troublesome if you two weren't able to solve it by dawn," Genji brought up, quietly. "Plus, it would get brighter as you two went. With time being the way it is, it won't stop for anyone."

"There is a way," Yukari said, tapping her chin. "Let's go back inside." And with another pull through a gap, the four of them tumbled into the main room of the Hakurei Shrine, Yukari being the only one on her feet.

"What do you plan to do?" Fujinchi said, slowly getting up with a hand on her back. Falling out of gaps was not good for her back.

"This right here," Yukari said, pulling a strange disc out of a gap called The Aristocats. "Oops, that's Chen's." She pulled a book out this time, a book that looked extremely old and arcane. She flipped to a page, and showed it to the other three.

"This is an old and ancient spell. Do you really believe that we have the magical power for this?" Genji asked.

"Nope, but that's why I'm bringing Ran here, and why Ran is bringing Chen here," Yukari said, reaching into the gap. A sudden yelp and yellow and brown fur later, Ran tumbled out of the gap, Chen right behind her. The shikigamis were bewildered - and nervous - to be in the Shrine, but they couldn't argue anymore; not with Yukari around.

"You wouldn't happen to have anymore magical entities around here, would you?" Yukari asked, even though she didn't sense anything.

Fujinchi, Reimu, and Genji looked at each other. Mima used to haunt the shrine, but she was gone for whatever reason. The Three Fairies of Light didn't seem to be around. The only other resident of the shrine, Ruukoto, as cheerful and friendly as she was, was a nuclear-powered robot and a product of science, not magic.

As the three natives to Hakurei Shrine shook their heads, Yukari shrugged. "I knew that already, but it couldn't hurt to ask."

With Reimu Hakurei the Shrine Maiden, Yukari Yakumo the Gap Youkai, Fujinchi Hakurei the Shrine Mother, Genji the Kamegoro, Ran Yakumo the Kitsune, and Chen Yakumo the Nekomata concentrating hard, they began to weave the magical spell.

The night froze.

* * *

_**-Chapter 1 End-**_

* * *

**AN:** Fujinchi Hakurei is somewhat of an OC. We know that the Hakurei Shrine had been in Reimu's family, but historically, Shrine Maidens are virgin females. As Reimu's mother would not have qualified the instant that she became pregnant with Reimu, I invented an aunt to have been the previous Shrine Maiden. As for her name, it is a portmanteau of the Japanese words "fujin" which can mean "lady" and "jinchi", which can mean "wisdom", making her name "lady of wisdom". Genji and Ruukoto are also canon characters in the series. Genji appeared in the second, third, fourth, and fifth Touhou games as a turtle that helps Reimu fly. Ruukoto too is a canon character - she only appears in the ending of the third Touhou game, Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dreams.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN:** Here's the next chapter! This time, it'll be featuring Marisa and Alice.

* * *

**-Chapter 2-**

* * *

_It smells ominous. It is said that the forest eats Humans. Humans usually maintain a safe distance from it. Its atmosphere constantly brims with an unearthly evil._

_"The Forest of Magic, a place where all the evil in Gensokyo naturally gathers. Within that forest, small human figures are gathered into a small building. Human figures smaller than humans._

* * *

Alice had seen it immediately, though with no one in the vicinity outside of her dolls, she couldn't quite tell anyone else. Shanghai, Hourai, and the others were good to talk to, but they couldn't quite advise her on what to do about the situation.

Regardless, it was extremely unsettling. How could someone have managed to do that to the moon, one of the largest receptacles of magic in entire Gensokyo? Did they really think that no one would notice the difference?

Then again, it wasn't as if many people did. Alice still visited the Human Village as the Puppeteer Youkai looked and acted Human enough, and none of them seemed to be aware of anything wrong. They all happily chattered away their plans for the Moon Festival, blissfully unaware of the fact that anything seemed to be wrong.

Well, everyone was unaware except that one woman, the schoolteacher, in the blue dress with white hair and brown eyes. Alice did mentally note that maybe if she ever found that Human on a dark night, to not eat her. She wasn't a common Human, and uncommon Humans were not only interesting to speak to, they tasted funny.

Speaking of funny-tasting humans... was that the sound of Marisa exploding something in the night?

Alice snapped out of her thoughts thanks to the explosion, sighing. She held her book in her hands and looked over at her dolls which she had gathered around her. "How could the Humans possibly not be aware of this disaster?"

If Marisa was exploding things as normal, she probably wasn't aware at all of what was going on. And with the Humans unaware and blissfully ignorant, would the Shrine Maiden be ignorant of what was going on as well? There was nothing to it.

Alice would have to go herself.

"Okay then! Hourai will stay here and guard the house." Even if it would expend more power to keep the doll animated the further away she got from the house. "And Shanghai will come with me!"

What could possibly go wrong?

Dressing in her normal clothes and picking up Shanghai and her Grimoire, she stepped out of the house and took a deep breath in the night air. It was time to solve this incident and find out what had happened to the moon!

Or at least, she would... if she had any idea where to begin. Alice looked around helplessly; as much as she knew about Gensokyo, and the ancient knowledge that was lost to most of the inhabitants, solving incidents required practical experience. She was sometimes the one helping cause trouble in incidents, too, not solving them (she had to push away memories of Shinki at that point; it hurt too much). And as it was, she had no idea where to go or how to find the unknown person that was behind this.

"I don't like this. They're used to it... they should be the ones solving it! Do they really not know?!"

That meant she would have to go find someone that was capable of that very thing... and maybe go with them since she likely had a better idea of what was going on then they ever would. As far as she knew, only three girls had a good idea of how to solve incidents: the Shrine Maiden, the Black Witch, and the Scarlet Maid.

There was probably no way that she would get in to see Sakuya; even if she was on friendly terms with Patchouli, she didn't know Sakuya all too well, let alone Remilia. There was no way she was going to Reimu for help; it was likely that the Shrine Maiden would Fantasy Seal her the instant she came close to the Shrine as she never went there.

That only left Marisa.

Alice and Marisa were not on the best of terms, but they had a grudging respect for each other (besides, Marisa was more tolerable than Reimu). If she wanted to ask Marisa a favor, she would have to convince her in some way to accompany her. Luckily, bribing Marisa was easy.

If there was one thing that everyone in Gensokyo knew about Marisa, it was that she loved to read. Marisa would read any book that she could get her hands on, and was a bibliophile; many times had Patchouli complained to her about Marisa breaking into the Scarlet Devil Mansion and making off with some rare books.

As for Alice herself, she had several extremely rare grimoires, some of which were the only copies available in Gensokyo. They were so well-guarded that Marisa had never been able to make off with them, as much as the witch had tried. If she offered to let Marisa "borrow" a few of those grimoires, it should be easy to recruit her for this.

* * *

Alice could find her way to Marisa's house with her eyes closed and relying on nothing but her memory, considering the number of times she had had to go there in order to steal her own books back. As it was, there were a few explosions in the air that were definitely coming from Marisa's little cottage in the Forest of Magic.

"Marisa!" the Puppeteer yelled, knocking on the door. Another loud bang, and the door opened, revealing a rather dusty and surprised looking Marisa.

"Oy, what do you want? I don't have any of your books, I promise!" the witch protested.

"Oh, just a little favor," Alice said, calmly shifting the bag around her shoulders.

"...This late, you want a favor from me? Alice, I'm not that kind of girl, and definitely inot/i for you."

That hadn't been what she meant at all! She frowned a bit, before, grabbing the witch's arm and dragging her outside. "There! Don't you see it?!"

Marisa squinted her eyes. "The moon?"

"Yes, the moon. It's big, orange, and most definitely not small and white as it normally is," Alice said in a deadpan. "No one outside of that schoolteacher in the Human Village noticed. You didn't notice. I don't know anyone that did."

"Does this mean there's stuff to blow up?" Marisa perked up at the thought. "Awesome! Where do I go?"

"I don't know," Alice said. "It's an incident. You're experienced with it." As much as she hated to butter Marisa up, it was the only way to get her to go. The rare grimoires were her last resort in case the witch didn't agree.

Marisa tapped her chin as she listened to Alice talk. Perhaps she would go examine this at all. If Alice was nervous and was insisting on her going, it had to be something big. But it was dangerous, they had no idea where it was coming from, and how was she to know what to do? Blowing up everything in sight sounded fun, but it wasn't much that they could do.

"What's in it for me?"

"For one, I'll be there," Alice bit back her pride upon making this statement. She'd had to choose her words carefully in order to make it look like she wasn't being subservient to Marisa. She would never be subservient to Marisa, a Human, ever. But she still had to make sure that Marisa recognized she wanted her assistance.

"...That's it?"

There was nothing to it. She had to bring out her last resort. With a sigh, she reached into her bag and pulled out one of the grimoires that she had brought.

"And you can borrow these that I have in here. Free of charge. No questions asked."

She wasn't at all surprised to see Marisa's face light up like dark danmaku inverting. The witch practically became hypnotized by the books, and Marisa let out a happy grin. "You have a deal, Alice! When can we go?!"

"Not yet," Alice said, placing her bag and the grimoire she'd pulled out on one of the cleaner areas of Marisa's home. Ugh, the place was a mess... "There's no point in going out only to not find the culprit by dawn. If we don't by then... well, things would become complicated."

"So what're you suggesting, stopping dawn from coming?" Marisa raised her eyebrows.

"You're faster than I thought," Alice said, setting her personal Grimoire down and opening it to a bookmarked page. "This is what we need."

"..." Marisa tilted her head. "...You wouldn't happen to have a spell that translates English to Japanese, would you?"

Oh, right. Marisa couldn't read English. With a sigh, Alice decided to explain what was on the page, before waving her hand and allowing the text to change to Japanese. "It's a spell called 'The Imperishable Night'. It's what we need if we want to find the culprit before dawn comes."

She explained the incantation and how it worked. Marisa, at the least, was a good student and soaked up the information like a sponge. Then again, that was how she always was.

"What time is it?" Alice asked.

Marisa glanced over at a strange device with numbers on a screen that Rinnosuke, whom she affectionately called Kourin, had given her called a "digital" clock. It was normally powered by something called "electricity", but she had adapted it to be powered through magic. "10:14 PM."

"Should be plenty of time to prepare the spell before true night hits."

"Sure, let's get it done!"

"This spell... it's very powerful," Alice warned. "The more people there are, the better it will work, but we only have just the two of us." She didn't bother to explain why, but as it was, it was just her and Marisa. If either of them didn't put their all into the spell, then the spell would fail.

"Who said it was just the two of you? Forgetting about us so quickly?"

Both girls jumped as the familiar male voice went through Marisa's cottage. Upon turning around, they both spotted Rinnosuke, the half-youkai, half-human, _male _shopkeeper of unusual things, with something they couldn't recognize in his arms. Peeping in behind Rinnosuke were two familiar looking fairies.

"Kourin? Sunny? Star?" Marisa blinked, staring at her friend and the fairies that frequented her shop; as irritating as they were, she could tell that there was something wrong with them. And where was Luna?

"We don't have time... there's something we really have to do," Alice said. "We'll welcome the magical assistance, though." Even if it was from a half-youkai and fairies.

"Does this have to do with the moon?" Rinnosuke asked, setting something down on Marisa's bed. It was only then that they noticed that he was carrying a small person in his arms.

"We were gonna go prank some humans..." Sunny said, not looking like her usual self. "The sun was setting so we were waiting until it set so that Luna would have her full powers, but when it set and the moon appeared, she didn't get stronger! She's supposed to get stronger when the moon appears! She's a Moon Fairy!"

Alice blinked, and looked over at the figure Rinnosuke had set down with interest. A Moon Fairy, comatose, even though Fairies couldn't die?

"Luna?" Marisa stared at the fairy Rinnosuke had set down, before looking back at Rinnosuke. Star took up the story from there.

"Luna said she can't sense the moon! We tried to find you because you were strong and could find a spell or something," Star explained. "But you weren't at the door. The man here was, he said he knew where you lived, so he helped us come here... Luna collapsed on the way."

"And so I figured I'd see if Marisa could come up with anything for the two of them, and helped these three out. Luna's still out, but she seems to be growing weaker the longer there's something wrong with the moon," Rinnosuke said, settling Luna Child in a comfortable position and checking the Fairy's temperature.

"If a Moon Fairy is collapsing, then that means we have to get this done," Alice said. "Marisa and I were actually on our way to fix this incident with the moon when you all came inside."

"We want to help! We're not the Three Fairies of Light without Luna!" Sunny said, a determined expression on her face. Star nodded, a bit more seriously than Sunny.

"I'll help too. What do you need us to do?" Rinnosuke asked.

Alice paused, studying them. Rinnosuke was only half-Youkai. Sunny and Star were only fairies, even if they were Elemental ones. Sunny wasn't at full power, either, due to the sun having set. Still, it would have just been her and Marisa originally. The help of a half-Youkai, an Elemental Fairy, and a half-powered Elemental Fairy was better than nothing.

Shinki, her adopted mother, and Mima, Marisa's witch mentor, would have been a tremendous help as well... but alas, neither of the two were around anymore. Rinnosuke, Sunny, and Star would have to do. The Youkai and the Human looked at each other, and nodded in a silent agreement.

"Alright. This is the spell we need to use," Alice said, showing them the book as Marisa set the rest of the spell up. "And we'll do the rest after its cast."

"It's 10:49! Ready when you guys are!" Marisa grinned, holding up the mini-Hakkero that Rinnosuke had given her all those years ago - it couldn't hurt to use it!

Marisa Kirisame the Black Witch, Alice Margatroid the Rainbow-Colored Puppeteer, Rinnosuke Morichika the Antique Shopkeeper, Sunny Milk the Sun Fairy of Light, and Star Sapphire the Star Fairy of Light began.

The night froze.

* * *

_**-Chapter 2 End-**_

* * *

**AN:** Yes, Rinnosuke is one of those rare male characters that never appeared in the games but appeared in the doujins, and I believe the Three Fairies of Light were in the game where you play as Cirno, Fairy Wars. And as for Luna's situation... I figured it would make sense. The moon is normally always there, even when they can't see it. Being within sight of the moon probably powered her up, so I felt that being removed completely would weaken her drastically.


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: **Here's the chapter with Sakuya and Remilia's team!

* * *

_**-Chapter 3-**_

* * *

_There is a mansion located next to a lake; a scarlet mansion. Between a lake of glistening white and a forest of verdant green stood a mansion of unyielding scarlet. It should be an awkward sight, but strangely, it's very soothing._

_It is said that time stops flowing within this mansion, the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's not a metaphor._

* * *

Sakuya knew that she had to go out, and finish this for her Lady. It was a disturbing development, and there was no point in letting it sit. The Moon Festival was tomorrow, but how would it work if there was no full moon?

"Sakuya. I need you to find out what is causing this."

"I will do my best, My Lady."

The maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion had dressed herself in a much more practical outfit, a dark blue and black dress instead of her normal maid uniform, armed herselves with her knives, Luna Dial, and Spell Cards, and set out to find the culprit of all of this. She'd passed Meiling, the gate guard, and set out across the lake.

Not much had happened. She'd had to deal with the annoying Ice Fairy that lived in the lake not too far from their mansion (which had taken so little time that Sakuya didn't even bother with the Luna Dial), but other than that, she had had no idea where to start. There were no clues, outside of the fact that the moon was not what it appeared to be. It would take her a little bit of time, but she eventually headed back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

And the first thing Sakuya noticed upon reaching the Mansion gates?

"Meiling, get up," she said, poking the sleeping Chinese Youkai on the shoulder a few times, before entering the Mansion. She didn't bother to check if Meiling even was aware of her trying to wake her.

Her Mistress, Remilia Scarlet herself had her arms crossed and was waiting for her when she came back in. The young-looking woman stood up from her chair, and looked over at Sakuya as the other came back in.

"Have you already managed to do that as I asked?" Remilia asked.

Sakuya wanted to shrink a bit; no, she hadn't accomplished anything. The mild headache she had had since all of this started hadn't helped, either. It was as if a piece of herself had been taken away and her body wasn't happy about it at all.

"I beg your pardon, My Lady, I..."

Remilia sighed upon hearing the words from her maid. Sakuya didn't need to finish her statement; the Vampire knew that it meant that Sakuya had not been able to solve it, which frankly worried her more than anything else. Sakuya was an extremely competent individual, probably more competent than the rest of of her subordinates combined, and the fact that she wasn't able to solve it meant that it had to be big.

Her maid had managed to track down who had stolen spring, after all. Remilia conveniently chose not to acknowledge that Reimu and Marisa had been there as well.

"Get Meiling and come to the library. I have to talk to Patchouli. Maybe she can help."

As the Vampire left the main entrance and went to the library to talk to the asthmatic Magician, Sakuya sighed, and stepped back outside, and tilted her head. It looked like Meiling hadn't woken up since she had slipped past her. Sakuya shook the Youkai a bit harder, causing her to snap awake.

"I'm not sleeping!"

"Of course you weren't, Meiling... in fact, you will never sleep while on duty, right?" Sakuya smiled, a little too cheerfully for Meiling's comfort. Meiling gave a quick nod at that.

"Of course!"

"Anyways, come inside. The Mistress has summoned you." That definitely got Meiling's attention, for usually Remilia was happy to let her stay outside unless Flandre had gotten out of the basement and she needed backup to get the little sister under control and back into the basement.

"Did the little sister escape?" Meiling asked worriedly as she followed Sakuya quickly into the mansion. "I can't hear anything though."

"No, the little sister didn't escape," Sakuya replied, opening the door to the library. "It's something bigger. Surely you would have noticed?"

Unless Meiling had been so busy sleeping outside the mansion that she hadn't noticed that the moon had gone amiss, then Meiling should realize what they were talking about. Luckily, from the dawning comprehension on the red-haired Youkai's face, it looked like she did.

"...Oh. _Oh_. What can I do, though...?"

"We'll see. Ah, my Lady, Miss Patchouli, we're here." Sakuya and Meiling had entered the most spacious area of the library, with a large table. Remilia, Patchouli, and Koakuma, Patchouli's familiar and assistant, were there as well. To the surprise of neither the maid nor the gate guard, Patchouli had her nose buried in a rather ancient and heavy-looking book on the table.

"Just in time, Sakuya. Patchouli has found a spell that we could use. I'm sure she understands it better than I do..." Remilia said. If there was one that she was willing to admit that someone else was better at, it was Patchouli and the contents of the books she spent all her time with. To consider otherwise was a huge insult to the magician.

Patchouli beamed at the praise, picking the book up with little effort and depositing it in Koakuma's hands so that the familiar was now bearing the weight. Koakuma herself stumbled a bit, nearly collapsing from the weight of the book, but Patchouli ignored this, instead flipping back a few pages from where she had been.

"Right. The light's a bit dim, but it will do. The pages describe an ancient Lunarian-based spell that is capable of doing much, such as this right here," the librarian said, pointing to a few diagrams. Upon glancing over at the diagrams curiously, Sakuya's eyes widened. Was it... really possible to do that, even with Lunarian magic?

"The main problem is that it takes a tremendous amount of magical energy, which is why we needed all of us present to be here," Patchouli continued, gesturing to herself, Koakuma, Remilia, Sakuya, and Meiling.

"Except Flandre," Remilia interjected.

"Sorry Remi... Though she's got a lot of power and would probably be able to handle the magical strain of the spell singlehandedly, Flan is too uncontrollable. There has to be a lot of control for this spell," Patchouli said. Neither Sakuya nor Meiling disputed Patchouli's pet names for the Mistress and her sister; Remilia had made it clear a long time ago that Patchouli could call them whatever she wanted.

"I know, I was just stating the obvious. Please go on." Remilia waved her hand, not phased in the least.

"Anyways... the Fairy maids have so little power that even all of them combined wouldn't equal a fragment of Koakuma's, but the five of us here have sufficient power. Plus, this particular spell can be augmented with control over time." Here, Patchouli stopped and looked at Sakuya. "Specifically, your ability to control the Luna Dial."

"My Luna Dial?" Sakuya pulled what appeared to be an old-fashioned silver pocket watch out of her pocket, and looked at it. It was capable of temporarily stopping time, slowing it down, and speeding it up, and Sakuya definitely abused that ability quite a bit. With the uselessness of the Fairy maids, how else would she get anything done? The rumor that she did the entire mansion's cleaning and chores was not a rumor at all.

"Exactly. With the five of us and your controlling the Luna Dial, we have a decent chance of success," Remilia said. "And then I'll go out and solve this incident myself. It will be nightfall, after all."

The thought of Remilia being out alone by herself sent a stab of worry through Sakuya's heart, but she didn't say anything at the moment. There really wasn't much she could do if Remilia ordered her to stay home. She hoped it wouldn't come to that; the last thing she wanted was for her to go out by herself, without any of them to aid her.

"Time is wasting, even with Sakuya slowing it down right now." Upon hearing that, Sakuya started; it never failed to surprise her when Remilia casually stated when she was using her abilities. "Patchouli, can we begin the spell?"

Patchouli checked several pieces of parchment, and nodded. "Now is a good time to start. Sakuya, make sure to have your Luna Dial out and active throughout the process. Meiling, wake up, I noticed you falling asleep. Everyone in the positions marked here."

The others shuffled to the positions that Patchouli pointed them at, Sakuya pulling out the Luna Dial and messing with the settings. She didn't know where it had come from, but it was hers and only responded to her; no one else could use it even if they stole it. And for that, Sakuya was thankful, considering she didn't have to hide the fact she had it. Soon enough, all of them were in position.

Remilia Scarlet the Scarlet Devil, Sakuya Izayoi the Chief Maid, Patchouli Knowledge the Elemental Magician, Meiling Hong the Chinese Gatekeeper, and Koakuma Knowledge the Makaian Familiar began.

The night froze.

* * *

_**-Chapter 3 End-**_

* * *

**AN:** Not much to say about this chapter. Flandre was left out for obvious reasons - huge magical power, lack of control.


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: **Here's chapter 4, with Youmu and Yuyuko! This is the last chapter before the epilogue, so wait for that!

* * *

**_-Chapter_**** 4-**

* * *

_No other place in Gensokyo can match the silence of this place. It isn't simply bleak. It has an atmosphere that calms the soul. There is no sign of any disturbance; nature's bounty and refreshing wind is the sole source of motion and sound._

_This is the Netherworld, the land of the dead. There isn't a living human anywhere to be found. The ghosts there, however, enjoy a lively afterlife._

* * *

Inside the Netherworld, many of the ghosts and residents were in an uproar. However, none were nearly as concerned as Youmu Konpaku was. She could tell, even from where she was, that there was something seriously wrong with the full moon as it was. Youmu toyed with her ghostly half, Myon, as a way of occupying herself as she pondered what to do.

There was a very good chance that her Lady Yuyuko already knew about the incident that was occurring, but there was also a chance that she didn't. Yuyuko could be quite oblivious at times, in Youmu's opinion, only too happy to eat whatever foods were placed in front of her and picking on her.

The gardener and sword instructor of Hakugyokurou fervently wished that her mentor, Youki Konpaku, was there. He would perhaps have a better idea of what exactly what to do at the moment. She toyed with Myon a bit more, murmuring to herself about everything that was going on.

"So Lady Yuyuko might not even be aware of this... should I tell her?" she mused, glancing at Myon even though she knew that her other half wouldn't speak to her with a mind separate from her own. Something to this degree had to be extremely dangerous, but whether it would pose a threat to the Netherworld? That, Youmu had no idea. But there were all of those people in Gensokyo, and what if something happened so that whatever was causing this stopped new souls from entering the Netherworld?

"Youmu, there you are!"

Youmu perked up upon hearing the voice of her mistress, the ghost Yuyuko Saigyouji herself. The young half-human, half-ghost stood up, beaming over at Yuyuko. It was best to check whether she was in a good mood before potentially telling her of an incident that was taking place - an incident that wouldn't be their fault this time.

"Ah, Lady Yuyuko," Youmu said perkily. "How are you doing today?"

Judging from Yuyuko's expression, it seemed that she really wasn't in such a good mood after all. Oops. Maybe she should have asked whether there was something she could have done for her. Yuyuko brushed a lock of pink hair out of her own eyes, and sighed. She placed her hands on her hips, peering very closely at Youmu, before leaning back and simply studying the girl.

"Youmu. Are you still ignoring /that/?" Yuyuko said, crossing her arms.

"Eh?!" Youmu blinked, staring at Yuyuko. "What do you mean by 'that'?" Was there something going on that her Lady thought was obvious?

Yuyuko smiled a bit. "What, are you not even aware of it? It's because you slacked off that you don't know what is going on."

Well, unless Yuyuko was talking about something completely different, such as the ingredients for her favorite dish mysteriously vanishing, then it had to be about what was presently going on and what Youmu herself had noticed. If that wasn't the case, she would eat half of herself - if only to prevent Yuyuko from eating Myon herself.

"So you were talking about the Moon?" Youmu asked. "I am certainly aware of that. You only said /that/, and so suddenly..."

The young gardener trailed off, not quite sure what to say at the moment. With how easygoing Yuyuko was, and how playful, she could get away with not addressing the princess of the Netherworld by her title. Yuyuko simply shrugged, and wrapped an arm around Youmu's shoulders.

"It looks like no one's taking any action," the ghost girl mused. "So why don't you have a go, Youmu?" She smiled brightly.

Youmu started, letting out a small squeak, and she stared up at the pink-haired girl with large eyes. She wasn't scared, at all, but to go up into Gensokyo, the world of the living, to investigate an incident? She had never done something like that before! That was... that was something that the ones living in Gensokyo did, not a half-ghost girl in the Netherworld!

"Wh-Why so?"

Upon hearing that, Yuyuko actually laughed, squeezing Youmu's shoulders and dropping her arm off of the girl's shoulders. She patted Myon affectionately, and then smiled at Youmu's wide-eyed expression.

"Just kidding. You're much too unreliable anyways. Those three humans we met were much better at this, what were their names? Ah, Reimu, Marisa, and Sakuya." There was a clear joking tone in Yuyuko's voice, and no matter how many times Yuyuko teased her like that, Youmu always fell for the bait.

"Meanie... I'm not unreliable! I can do this!" Youmu practically pouted, and Yuyuko smiled at her, quite happy with the statement despite the fact her gardener had just called her a 'meanie'. She'd heard a lot worse before, and Youmu didn't mean anything harmful by it.

"That's the spirit, Youmu! Even if you are somewhat unreliable, I did mean that," Yuyuko said, a serious tone in her voice.

"H-Hey..."

"Anyways~!" Yuyuko clapped her hands together and then placed her arm around Youmu's shoulders again, steering Youmu towards another part of the garden that they were standing in. "The Prismrivers should be here any minute, and we can start here."

Youmu glanced around, and gave a start. Of all the places for Yuyuko to lead her to in the Netherworld, it was here? Why were they here? It was dangerous!

"Lady Yuyuko, is there any reason we are next to the Saigyou Ayakashi?" Sure, the rest of the garden was filled with the cherry blossoms of spring, but she'd been quietly told by Yukari herself that the Youkai Cherry Tree would never bloom as long as Yuyuko was around. Youmu had never really grasped why, but she trusted Yukari; Yukari and Yuyuko were good friends and if Yukari had told her and not Yuyuko, then there had to be a reason for it.

"Hey, I'm here because it's not just a cherry tree, Youmu, and we need all of the magical energy that we could get." Yuyuko looked up at the tree, unaffected by its powers due to already being dead.

"Is it even sentient like us?" Youmu wondered, staring up at the tree. Being half-ghost and one of the dead protected her from its powers, too.

"I don't think it matters, anyways-" The sound of music heralded the entrance of the Prismriver Sisters. "Lunasa, Merlin, wonderful timing. But where's Lyrica?"

"We came as fast as we could," Lunasa, the oldest, said, her violin tucked underneath her arm. "It was good that we didn't have any concerts today."

"Lyrica's coming. She was spending time with a new friend of hers when you summoned us," Merlin said, her trumpet in her arms. "Lyrica doesn't have too many friends, and we like this girl that she met, so we invited her along. I hope you don't mind."

"No no!" Yuyuko said. "In fact, another person would be wonderful. We need all of the people that we can find."

"Lady Yuyuko, what's going on? Why do we need so many of us to be here?" Youmu asked, confused. What was Yuyuko up to this time? Did it have something to do with the incident, and the question was, were they going to do something to fix it? Honestly, as much as she loved Yuyuko, she wished that the other would fill her in on her ideas sometimes, if only so she didn't ask so many questions. Questions were becoming quite annoying. She looked at the Prismrivers to see if they had any clue.

Merlin shrugged upon seeing Youmu's look. "Hey, we know as much as you do."

"Oh, nothing, just a spell that Yukari told me about a very long time ago. With everything concerning the moon, we can't just let the night end and let the day begin with that moon there, can't we?" Yuyuko beamed. Youmu's eyes widened.

"Lady Yuyuko... you mean..."

"Exactly, Youmu! We're going to stop day from coming without everything being solved! And the more magical energy we have when the spell is being performed, the better! Which is why I wanted to do it near the Saigyou Ayakashi and you Prismrivers here!" Yuyuko said, quite happy now that Youmu seemed to understand exactly what was going on.

"I understand, Lady Yuyuko," Youmu said, nodding. "Is there no one else that can come here?"

"I don't think so... I'd love for your mentor to be here, but he's nowhere in sight. As for the ones in Gensokyo, I'd love to summon those two girls as well, but we don't need the barrier to the Netherworld broken again- ah, there you are, Lyrica! And who's your friend?"

Indeed, it was the youngest Prismriver sister approaching them, with her piano floating near her. Trailing along after her was another girl, with short blonde hair, a blue and white dress, and a wide-brimmed pink hat. There was a flute near her.

"Hello... my name is Kana Anaberal," the new girl said. The fact that she was floating proved that she had magic, but Yuyuko looked up at her with a bit more interest than she would another person.

"Poltergeist? There aren't many of you."

"Y-Yes," said Kana. "I'm a poltergeist and a musician-in-training."

Youmu blinked. That certainly explained her flute, but she was surprised that the Prismrivers had allowed another girl into their group that wasn't related to them. Then again, she was not only a musician in an instrument that they didn't have in their group, but was a poltergeist like them... and there weren't many poltergeists in Gensokyo or the Netherworld. Kindred spirits?

"Alright! Kana, Lyrica, will you two be dears and help the rest of us with this?" Yuyuko explained what she already had to Youmu, Lunasa, and Merlin. The two newcomers nodded.

"Now, if there are no more questions, why don't we start~? Lyrica, you haven't said a word, are you ready?"

Lyrica jumped. "I'm ready!"

The group took their positions underneath the Saigyou Ayakashi. For a moment, nothing happened, but then a few cherry petals appeared to fall from the tree, despite the lack of blossoms. Perhaps this was the Youkai Cherry Tree's way of lending it's support to their cause.

Yuyuko Saigyouji the Ghost Princess, Youmu Konpaku the Half-Ghost Gardener, Saigyou Ayakashi the Youkai Cherry Tree, Lunasa Prismriver the Violinist Poltergeist, Merlin Prismriver the Trumpeter Poltergeist, Lyrica Prismriver the Pianist Poltergeist, and Kana Anaberal the Flautist Poltergeist began.

The night froze.

* * *

_**-Chapter 4 End-**_

* * *

_****_**AN:** Kana Anaberal was another character from the Touhou game Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dreams, a poltergeist. Her befriending Lyrica was from a fanfic that I never got around to writing.


	6. Epilogue

**AN:** For those of you reading this, sorry! I genuinely forgot that I never uploaded the epilogue! However, here it is now. Thanks for those of you that are reading this!

* * *

_**-Epilogue-**_

* * *

_It was peaceful. Or, it looked peaceful. However, all Youkai were upset. What's really happening is that, without anyone taking notice, suddenly... The full moon has disappeared from Gensokyo's night._

* * *

"Come on, Reimu. We have to get this done," Yukari said, not letting go of the girl's arm as they flew up into the night.

"Calm down, you don't need to rush me, Yukari..." Reimu grumbled, flying after the Youkai, her spell cards ready.

* * *

_Even on the night of a supposed full moon, a bit of missing light prevents it from being full. It's no wonder that humans aren't aware of the situation, though; it's only the tiniest bit of difference._

* * *

"We have to hurry, Marisa," Alice said, making sure to stick close to the other girl. This wasn't something that she wanted to do by herself.

"Yeah yeah..." Marisa clutched her broomstick, flying alongside Alice. Maybe they could see interesting things along the way.

* * *

_For non-humans however, a moon that isn't full doesn't function at all. It's an especially critical problem for those who dislike sunlight._

* * *

"Sakuya, you didn't have to follow me," Remilia said, using her natural abilities as a Vampire to fly in the darkness, as she glanced back at her maid.

Sakuya just shook her head, ignoring the dull ache that had been in her head since all of this started. "My place is beside you, My Lady."

* * *

_Humans and Youkai, teams of two, ventured out into Gensokyo's midnight hours to retrieve the missing fragment of the moon and restore the full moon._

* * *

"Lady Yuyuko..." Youmu blinked as her mistress flew alongside her. She hadn't expected Yuyuko to come along, at all.

"It will work out better if I go with you, Youmu," Yuyuko said in a voice that suggested the discussion was over. She didn't mention that she was concerned about Youmu going by herself.

* * *

_They will stop the night if need be. Even if it becomes an imperishable night._

* * *

Fujinchi Hakurei and Genji stayed calm with Ran and Chen, entertaining them with various refreshments and games with the help of Ruukoto.

Rinnosuke watched over the comatose Luna with the help of the eerily quiet Sunny and Star, occasionally glancing over at the rocket Marisa had called "Mimi" as if wanting to steal it.

Meiling guarded the entrance to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, protecting Patchouli and Koakuma until the mistress and Sakuyareturned... and protecting outsiders from the little sister within.

Lunasa, Merlin, Lyrica, and Kana serenaded puzzled Netherworlders with their music underneath the Saigyou Ayakashi, which seemed to not be weaving its own magic to everyone as it let a few magically appearing cherry blossoms fall from its branches.

* * *

_As summer draws to a close, not much time remains before the harvest moon. The teams of Human and Youkai stop the night._

* * *

But they were not the only ones awake.

The Flowering Kirin Nurse, the Insect of Light Wriggling in the Dark, the Singing Night Sparrow, and the History Eater were all awake. Even the Eternal Phoenix rose from her slumber.

And they all noticed.

* * *

_**-Epilogue End-**_

* * *

**AN:** Thanks again to those of you that read this! It'd mean a lot if you could take a few seconds to tell me what you thought of my take on this.


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